


Five Years After

by lifeaftermeteor



Series: Life After Meteor [7]
Category: Gundam Wing
Genre: BROTPs abound, Gen, M/M, Post-Canon, Post-Endless Waltz, Post-Series, Preventers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-22
Updated: 2016-01-22
Packaged: 2018-05-15 13:19:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 4,800
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5786614
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lifeaftermeteor/pseuds/lifeaftermeteor
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The week between December 25 and New Years has become especially sacred to the ESUN population since the end of the conflict.  Five years later - by Duo's suggestion - the five pilots converge on the empty Geneva streets for an anniversary of sorts.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is part 7 of the [Life After Meteor](http://archiveofourown.org/series/391015) series, which trails the Gundam Pilots (and others) through the years post-war. Welcome comments/feedback.

**Unit #1312, Preventers HQ Subsidized Housing Complex  
Geneva, Switzerland  
200 December 24**

The lights were coming on in the city. The setting sun burned itself to dust below the horizon, yielding the sky to the black void above as mankind created their own electric starlight down below. Constellations of fluorescent buoys in the night, false galaxies, and interstellar signposts trapped by Earth’s gravity.

Heero watched it all unfold stories below from the roof of their apartment building and sighed deeply, turning his gaze upward and wishing he could chart his way home. 

But there was no ‘home’ above either, in truth. He wondered sometimes if Wufei and Duo shared this alien longing. He didn’t dare ask them. He didn’t like to be intentionally cruel to Wufei, and Duo was unpredictable and contrary. In true L2 fashion, he supposed. 

Duo had gone to the shuttle port to meet Hilde. The two of them had pooled resources to pay for her ticket down, and had agreed that their de facto sister would stay with them rather than at one of the overpriced hotels in town. It was only after Duo left for the shuttle port that Heero realized they had not in fact figured out the bedroom shuffling. 

He had assumed Duo would be staying with him, rather than crashing on their couch, and he wasn’t entirely sure what that meant.

Rubbing his hands together to draw blood back into his cold fingers, he turned away from the building’s safety railing and walked to the access stairwell. Duo and Hilde would be back soon and they should have something on hand to feed her. Wufei would be coming over for breakfast tomorrow, and they’d likely see quite a bit of him between now and New Year’s if Duo had his way (as he would, Heero was sure). Meanwhile, Trowa and Quatre – if he remembered correctly – would be converging on the city on the 26th. He vaguely recalled Quatre needing to leave on New Year’s Day, but of Trowa’s calendar he knew nothing. 

It would be the first time in years that they will have all been together in the same city, much less under the same roof for any length of time. Struggling to get his nerves in check, he hoped this little experiment went well.


	2. Chapter 2

**Unit #1312, Preventers HQ Subsidized Housing Complex  
** **Geneva, Switzerland**  
**200 December 25**

Wufei had arrived promptly at 1000 as instructed, but came bearing gifts of groceries. He promptly took over the apartment’s small kitchen and made the lot of them cōng yóubǐng [1] – to Duo’s unbridled joy – while the coffee brewed and percolated in the corner. 

Leaning against the wall, Heero watched the other man work while Duo hovered impatiently and announced, “You’re now the favorite coworker.” Wufei glanced over his shoulder and laughed while Duo made some offended noise at the demotion. 

Somewhere else in the apartment, a door opened and another closed, followed shortly thereafter by the sound of the showerhead turning on. Apparently, Hilde was awake.

Once breakfast was served, and cups of coffee poured they settled down to eat while they waited for their fourth to join them. Conversation whirled about plans for the week, recent travels, and Preventers-related nonsense.

“Can you tell the difference between the radar signatures of an RX-78-1 and an RX-78-2?” Wufei asked Duo.

“Why yes, yes I can.”

“Well, apparently that’s a highly valued, marketable skill.”

“Seriously?” Duo asked. “It’s not _that_ hard. The series one is a _whomp whomp whomp_ and the series two is a _whump whump whump_. They’re totally different.” When he turned to seek Heero’s agreement, he found his gaze heavy with amusement. “Oh, don’t tell me _you_ of all people can’t tell the difference.”

“No it’s not that,” Heero began with a shrug. “I was just going to say that when you add standard basic encryption, it becomes less of a _whump whump_ and more of a _whirt whirt_.”

In the far corner of the room, there was a short spark of laughter. Turning, the three found Hilde leaning against the archway, her cheeks still pink from the shower. “See this?” she began, gesturing flippantly at the three men clustered together over cups of coffee. “This is why you’re friends.” 

In the embarrassed laughter that followed her astute observation, Hilde crossed the room and extended a hand to Wufei, who stood to meet her. “Hi, I don’t think we’ve actually met. I’m Hilde.”

“Wufei.”

“So _you’re_ Wufei,” Hilde intoned, taking a seat at the table across from the other man. “I’ve heard a lot about you.”

The man shot a furtive glance at the other two and told her, straight-faced. “Whatever they’ve told you, they’re lying.”

Hilde laughed outright at that, and Duo choked on his coffee. “It’s only been good things,” she assured him, waving her hand dismissively as she picked up a pancake and took a bite. 

Wufei smirked at that. “Then they’re _definitely_ lying to you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [1] Cōng yóubǐng (葱油饼) are fantastic street food and should not be missed. More importantly, variations of scallion pancakes and crepes are found throughout Asia.


	3. Chapter 3

**Parc des Bastions  
Geneva, Switzerland  
200 December 25**

Although the city was empty, most of its residents fleeing for a well-deserved holiday in warmer – or snowier – climates, the winter day was bright and crisp. They had therefore fled the walls of Heero and Duo’s apartment around mid-day and wandered the mostly abandoned streets down to the lake promenade before turning southwest to Parc des Bastions. 

As they passed through, Hilde lingered to watch some locals circling the outdoor ice rink on borrowed skates. Duo caught her curiosity and suggested they take a spin sometime while she was in town. She laughed and defensively hooked her arm through Heero’s – an action which seemed to Wufei to be both expected and, apparently, welcome – and countered, “I’ve never been skating. I’d be horrible!”

Duo shrugged off her concern, spinning on his heel as he crossed in front of them to walk backwards a few steps. “I doubt the others have been skating either. You all can hold onto each other and fall gracelessly together.”

“When do Quatre and Trowa get in?” Wufei asked, latching onto the mention of their missing comrades.

“Quatre’s…the one from…L4, right?” Hilde asked from she hung on Heero’s arm. 

Duo nodded. “I’m surprised you remember Trowa, but not him, since Quat was your medical bay buddy for a while there…”

Hilde’s grin was predatory. “Who could forget _Trowa?”_ she asked. “I mean…have you _seen_ the man? That is to say…damn, son.”

Wufei laughed in spite of himself while Heero observed, “He’s going to love you,” his voice even, but the corners of his lips curling upward in a subtle smile.

Duo shook his head and pressed on. “Quatre gets in at two tomorrow.”

“PM?”

“Yeah. Trowa’s flight lands at 1515, which means he won’t get through customs till close to four.” 

“You going to meet them like you did with me?” Hilde asked.

Duo mulled the question over for a time before answering, “Quatre’s arranged for a car, but I might go to meet Trowa…”

“You don’t think Quatre would wait for him?” 

Duo offered him a mirthless smile in return. “I dunno, man. They’ve been on and off the rocks the last few months. Don’t say I said anything though.”

Wufei’s brow creased at this, puzzling the situation out – clearly it was more complicated than he realized. “I knew things had been tense, but wasn’t sure to what extent.”

“Well, when they both unilaterally – unbeknownst to the other – assure me that they’ll each respectively be on their best behavior, something’s up,” Duo told him. Wufei grimaced.

“Don’t take any of that on,” Heero murmured, leveling his gaze on the horizon. “They’re both adults. If they need space away from each other, they’ll go find it. That’s not something for you to worry about.”

Duo smirked. “Thanks, Dad.”


	4. Chapter 4

**Geneva, Switzerland**  
**200 December 26**

Upon arrival in chilly Geneva, Trowa’s cell had buzzed incessantly with messages outlining his designated choreography. Quatre had in fact waited for him despite his earlier arrival – something which even he had been unsure of – and Duo had been relieved of his anticipated escort duty. Quatre’s greeting at the reception hall was friendly, but not overly affectionate, which Trowa suspected under normal circumstances could’ve caused yet another row between them.

But it was only just recently Christmas, and they had a week to survive together. So he returned the warmth that was given. The embrace was a peace offering, which seemed to be understood as such because when they parted, Quatre’s smile was a little less strained.

The ride to the hotel was spent almost entirely in shared, blessed silence. Trowa had allowed his eyes to drift shut and, tilting his head back to rest against the seat, he felt the tension slowly bleed from his limbs. He hated space travel and had spent the duration of the trip with the blinds fastened shut and his nose buried in a book as he tried – without much success – to imagine away the void pressing in on the shuttle mere inches from him and the rest of the passengers.

He clung to the fact that he had two feet firmly planted on the ground, metaphorically speaking, as they pulled up the drive to the hotel that Quatre had booked. Blinking his eyes open at last, he was surprised to find the building proud and old but lacking in the opulence he’d come to associate with the Winner Heir. It made Trowa smile and he couldn’t help but wonder if perhaps the choice was made with him in mind. Quatre glanced back over his shoulder at him as they each stepped out of the car, and as their eyes met, they shared some unspoken acknowledgement.

 _Maybe this won’t be so bad,_ Trowa determined. 

Quatre’s security detail greeted them in the lobby with room keys and moved them quickly to the elevator bay. Trowa worried for a moment that they’d join them in the elevators too, and was relieved when the men informed them that there was already a team on their floor several stories above. He was grateful for the hand-off, especially when Quatre murmured, “I wasn’t sure, so…you have your own room.” Trowa glanced over to observe the other man, who now stood nearly the same height as him. Quatre’s eyes were riveted to the floor. “It’s connected to the main suite,” Quatre continued, “but…I didn’t want to presume…”

Trowa nodded, watching the numbers climb on the elevator’s gauge, and asked, “Do you even want me in your room?”

There was a heavy pause, and just as he thought the question would go unanswered, Quatre admitted, “I’m not sure.”

“That’s fair,” he told him. As the doors parted, he stepped out ahead of the other man and told him, “I’ll meet you in the lobby later and we’ll head over to the apartment together.”

He didn’t wait for an answer, making a beeline for his designated room. Once inside, Trowa leaned back against the door and expelled a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding in a heavy _whoosh._

Later, after they had reached Duo and Heero’s apartment, and once pleasantries were suitably exchanged, they deftly parted ways again. Quatre followed Hilde back to the kitchen, Heero trailing at their heels, while Trowa joined Wufei and Duo at the dining table. Trowa idly hoped that the distance would not speak too loudly, and was glad to see empty glasses and an open bottle of wine sitting at the center of the table.

“You’ll have to forgive me if I’m a bit jumpy tonight,” Trowa told the two of them as they collectively took their seats. He replenished Duo and Wufei’s glasses before pouring himself one, thus killing the remainder of the bottle that sat between the three of them. “I’ve had run-ins with some of Quatre’s security detail the last few times we’ve been in the same place, so now I’m waiting for one of them to come out of the woodwork…”

“Again?” Wufei asked as the three of them toasted, the glasses clinking merrily between them. “I thought you got that cleared up.”

Trowa shook his head as he swallowed the red wine. The familiar, pleasant burn of good alcohol blossomed in his chest. “Hanun’s on the ‘in’ now. Different guy. Different new guy. I think he’s Lebanese, but I could be wrong.”

“This happen a lot for you?” Duo asked with a grin.

“Every year or two. And don’t laugh – have you ever gone up against one of those guys? Man-on-man?” Trowa pointedly asked the Duo, who shook his head, smarmy grin locked in place. “I didn’t think so. It’s not fun.” He paused to finish the rest of the alcohol in his glass before continuing, “They can’t carry firearms because of that regulation…what was it? LX4R…”

“LX4R.3.0.2.a,” Quatre piped up from the other room. 

Trowa watched Duo and Wufei’s eyes dart to one another at the apparent eavesdropping by the man in the kitchen, but he chose not to comment. Instead, Trowa continued, “So you’d think they’d pose less of a threat, right? Close engagement only. Not so. They’re scary bastards – they come at you with swords. _Swords,_ for fuck’s sake! At that point, you grab whatever’s nearby. Chairs…lamps…small kittens.”

Duo snorted at that, covering his nose and mouth with his hands as he tried to shield his laughter. Wufei chimed in then, “That’s actually rather brilliant, really. No one expects the small kittens.”

“I bet you could get a nice spiral on that,” Duo added, pantomiming a rugby throw, adding a ‘meowr’ for good measure.

It was at this moment that Heero chose to walk back into the room and paused at the archway separating the dining table from the kitchen, his face betraying his confusion. His hesitance only fueled more laughter amongst the three men sitting around the table. 

As Trowa told the other man to grab a seat, Wufei seized the opportunity to ask Duo, “Now was that with or without standard basic encryption?” 

The question kick-started a whole new round of laughter from the other man, which Trowa didn’t quite follow. He was intrigued when Heero offered a muttered, “Ass,” as he joined the three already seated, but it seemed to him that the bite was missing in the reprimand.

“Can we all pause and appreciate the fact,” Quatre said, as he walked toward them and pulled up a chair, “that not only is Duo now imagining you throwing small animals at my body guards, but also what it _sounds_ like as it’s flying through the air.”

“I think we’re gonna need more of this,” Hilde managed through her own laughter, grabbing the empty bottle from the center of the table and walking back into the kitchen.


	5. Chapter 5

**Geneva, Switzerland  
200 December 27**

Heero and Trowa had spent the early morning hours at the Preventers gym, which had been about as abandoned as the rest of the city over the holiday weeks. The facility’s door guard had taken the briefest of glances at Trowa’s red visitor pass and credentials, opting instead to harp on Heero with a, “Couldn’t stay away could you?”

Heero at the time had shot back a snide, “I’m quickly approaching my festivities quota,” which had Trowa chuckling all the way to the locker room. 

The two of them had parted ways on the gym floor, Trowa veering to the weights while Heero headed to the treadmills. He eased into a steady, familiar rhythm, his trainers hitting the rubber in easy strides punctuated only by the occasional _clang_ of metal-on-metal elsewhere in the gym. As the rest of the world slipped away, his mind started to wander. 

He was glad to have a “training buddy,” as Duo had referred to Trowa as Heero had left the apartment to meet the other man downtown. Heero knew Duo loathed the gym, and Wufei could only ever be found in the sparring courts or the simulation tube. As for Heero, he liked to run. It was mindless exercise, he knew, his heart rate gradually increasing as his lungs worked harder the longer he was on the machine. He found it relaxing, despite the disdain he faced from Duo for it.

The two men spent much of the morning in shared silence at different corners of the facility before reconnecting in the locker room to shower and change, and – with some trepidation that Heero suspected was mutual – face the rest of the day. Together, they returned to Heero’s apartment.

“Probably a wise decision to change there,” Hilde intoned, giving the two of them a once-over upon their arrival. To Trowa she added, “I don’t think you should really be walking around without a shirt on anywhere except the Preventers gym. I’m fairly certain those guns are illegal under the ESUN’s offensive weapons ban.”

The comment earned her an undignified bark of laughter from Quatre while Duo groaned loudly and buried his face in his hands in clear embarrassment.

Trowa merely smiled back and said, “Oh, I like you.” To Heero, he added, “She can stay.”


	6. Chapter 6

**Unit #1312, Preventers HQ Subsidized Housing Complex  
** **Geneva, Switzerland**  
**200 December 28**

“Look, regardless,” Duo began, struggling to keep a straight face, “you don’t become a Gundam pilot because you blow shit up good.”

“Well—”

“Alright,” Duo cut in again, ceding ground immediately, “you don’t become a Gundam pilot _only_ because you blow shit up good.”

“A lot of planning goes into the execution, after all,” Trowa emphasized.

“It truly is an art form,” Hilde added with a grin.

“Unless you’re Wufei.”

“Hey!”

“I mean, come on man,” Duo said, fighting laughter. “Who among us can say that they actually had napalm readily on-hand, other than you. That’s just cheating.”

“I had nothing to do with the design of that suit,” Wufei argued.

“Hold that thought,” Quatre said, raising a single finger and turning to call over his shoulder, “Hey, Heero. How would you know if Pilot 05 had hit a base before you?”

“Was everything on fire?” Heero responded without skipping a beat. 

In the laughter that followed, Wufei seemed to consider the charges and finally shrugged and nodded, accepting his fate. “Alright, so maybe some of us had more of an… _affinity_ for razing targets to the ground.”

“There is a distinct lack of large explosions in peacetime,” Quatre noted, sounding almost disappointed. “I suppose that’s a good thing, but it certainly puts us out of a key line of work.”

“Tell me about it,” Wufei concurred. “Half the Pacific states can’t figure out what they’re going to do with the hardware that they can’t turn into razor blades and construction equipment.”

“‘Tis the season of goodwill port calls, based on what I’ve seen,” Heero added.

Duo snorted. “Yeah ‘cause _nothing_ is more intimidating than aircraft carriers lined with multi-colored Christmas lights.”

“Deck the halls, and the Filipinos?”

“Falalalala, yeh bastards.”

“I bring good tidings and maritime superiority?”

Hilde rolled her eyes and chuckled, muttering, “Nerds…” To her left, Trowa offered a thin, conspiratorial smile and raised his glass to hers in a shared, silent toast.


	7. Chapter 7

**Unit #1312, Preventers HQ Subsidized Housing Complex  
Geneva, Switzerland  
200 December 29**

Wufei could get used to this, he decided. The lot of them had spent more time together in Duo and Heero’s cramped apartment than he would have thought healthy, but they’d somehow managed to not kill each other. He suspected it had to do with the ample amount of sarcasm being kicked around throughout the week. Rotating KP [1] duties also seemed to lighten the mood – he had no idea Quatre could cook, much less cook well. He filed that away for later when he needed a mezze fix.

But finishing off his coffee and glancing at his watch, he stood and pulled his jacket off of the back of his chair. He slid into it as he said, “I hate to eat and run, but I have to get going—”

“You’re not going into the office, are you?” Quatre asked, sounding scandalized by the very thought as he too stood and trailed behind him as he moved towards the door.

“Eh, no. Not the office. But I’m probably going to be scarce the next couple days,” Wufei told him, then thought to add for the rest of the group, “if that’s alright.”

Duo grinned. “Is this library girl?”

“What?” Quatre asked turning to look back at Duo, clearly confused.

“Actually, no,” Wufei admitted, drawing Quatre’s attention back to himself. The other man’s eyes were curious, but he said nothing. Over the other man’s shoulder, he managed to smirk back at Duo despite the faint color appearing on his cheeks. “Different girl. New girl.”

_“What?”_ Duo demanded, his voice tilting into shrill while his eyes went wide. Next to him, Trowa laughed heartily at his distress. “What do you mean, _new_ girl?”

Wufei said nothing, but his smile widened considerably. Quatre reached out and straightened the scarf that hung around Wufei’s neck before giving him a friendly hug. “Let us know when you’re free again,” he urged when they parted.

“I will.”

“And have fun,” Trowa called as Wufei stepped across the apartment’s threshold and into the hallway.

“I _intend_ to,” Wufei shot back as the door closed behind him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [1] KP, as in kitchen patrol (or kitchen police, depending on who you ask).


	8. Chapter 8

**Geneva, Switzerland  
200 December 30**

Upon their return to the hotel after dinner at Duo and Heero’s, Quatre had invited Trowa over to his room where the two of them had collapsed on the couch exhausted from the day. It didn’t take long for Quatre to occupy prime real estate, his head resting in Trowa’s lap while the other man’s long fingers combed through his hair. 

It was just enough of an disinhibitor for him to say what had been on his mind since noon.

“You love me this week,” Quatre murmured where he lay, his eyes unfocused and staring across the room. “Perhaps not when we first arrived, but now. Now you do.”

Trowa answered simply, “Yes.” There was the briefest of pauses, his fingers twitching against Quatre’s scalp, but then he asked him, “Do you love me?”

Quatre thought about the question, rifling through the last few days and how they’d made him feel and came to an unsettling conclusion. “I don’t know,” he answered honestly. But it wasn’t this truth that unnerved him; rather, how the revelation seemed to…not really matter. As if he couldn’t bring enough of himself forward to feel heartache for the loss – there was just a sense of numb resignation.

“What’s happening to us, Trowa?” he asked. “I love you dearly. Still. But not like I used to. After the war, you kept me grounded to who I was, who I could be. You used to be in the forefront of my mind. And you’re still there,” he admitted, “but so are so many other things.”

Trowa was quiet for a time, mulling the confession. When he spoke, his voice was gentle. “You don’t need me like you used to,” he said, “so it stands to reason that you wouldn’t want me like you used to either. Maybe…this is the natural progression of…whatever this is.”

“Don’t say that.”

“Someone has to,” Trowa countered. “We only ever want to be around each other half the time, Quat. This week was good…but this week wasn’t about the two of us.”

“I don’t want to end this,” Quatre told him, hooking an arm under one of Trowa’s knees as if he could physically restrain the other man from walking out if he really wanted to. “I don’t want to lose you.”

There was a soft rumble of what sounded like muted laughter above him. “The feeling’s mutual on that front.”

“Don’t give up then,” Quatre urged. “Not yet. Not on me.” His request was met with another long pause. He considered rolling over to look up at the other man, but knew he wouldn’t – he was afraid of what he’d see in those green eyes.

At last, Trowa said, “Okay.”


	9. Chapter 9

**Unit #1312, Preventers HQ Subsidized Housing Complex  
Geneva, Switzerland  
200 December 31**

Their last full day together as a group had been spent in much the same way as the others: congregate for meals, trade good natured jabs and stories, and organize impromptu field trips around the city and its outskirts as needed. Duo thought the experiment was a great success, which what prompted his suggestion to do it again sometime only an hour before the New Year was to begin. 

“Maybe we can do it in another five years?” he offered.

“I certainly hope it’s more frequent than that,” Quatre told him with a smile, “but I see your point. Another reunion then?”

“I nominate Wufei to host,” Heero promptly added.

“What?” 

“Do I have a second?” asked Trowa, who sported a smarmy grin from the corner.

“Hold on—”

Hilde’s arm shot skyward with a giddy, “Yo!”

“Motion passes. See you in five years, Zhang,” Trowa told him, taking a swallow from the beer bottle in hand.

Wufei huffed, his cheeks already pink from the alcohol. “I know you all did not just bulldoze me with Robert’s Rules of Order.” [1]

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [1] _Robert’s Rules of Order_ provides guidelines for conducting meetings and making decisions by committee. You can [review them here](http://www.rulesonline.com/) if you’re at all interested.


	10. Chapter 10

**Unit #1312, Preventers HQ Subsidized Housing Complex  
** **Geneva, Switzerland**  
**201 January 1**

And like that…it was over. 

Wufei, Quatre, and Trowa had all left in the early hours of the morning, the latter pair off to stop at the hotel before catching two separate flights to the stars while Wufei – if Duo had to guess – probably crashed face-first into his bed to sleep off the festivities. Meanwhile, he, Heero, and Hilde spent much of the day recovering before dropping her off at the shuttle port that afternoon to catch her flight. 

The wave of departures left Duo listless, which he hadn’t expected. He had hoped that – beyond the week going well – the reunion would recharge his batteries. He hadn’t anticipated the silence that would follow in everyone’s wake.

So when L2-V08744 Branch Chief Liam Campbell called, Duo fled the apartment for the building’s roof and the solitude it offered. At least up there, the silence was welcome as Geneva came back to life, its residents returning from their various locales. Even after the phone call ended, he stayed and watched the winter sun dip below the horizon and the bright lights flicker to life from windows and storefronts across the city.

He wasn’t sure how long he’d stood there, his hands resting on the cold iron of the roof’s safety railing, a spectator of the encroaching night. In a far corner of his mind, he registered his fingers growing cold, the wind picking up…and yet still he stayed. 

At some point, he heard the door to the access stairwell opening and closing, steady footsteps approaching.

“I thought you might be up here,” Heero said as he approached from behind, coming up to stand beside him. Duo didn’t turn to face him; he kept his eyes locked on the horizon. When he didn’t speak, Heero pressed on, “That phone call earlier…was that him?”

“Campbell? Yeah, that was him,” Duo acknowledged, shifting to lean heavily on the guard rail. “I’ve been cleared for a temporarily detail to L2. We were coordinating our departure times.”

“So you’re going.”

Duo thought he detected just a shade of displeasure under the otherwise meticulously even tone. He shot a sidelong glance at the other man and observed, “You sound disappointed.”

He watched Heero bring a hand up to his lips and gnaw on the edge of a fingernail, but then seemed to return to himself and drove the digits into his jacket pocket. Duo chose not to comment on the nervous tick and Heero once again was forced to fill the space between them. “I just got used to you being my roommate again is all. How long will you be gone?”

Duo shrugged. “Probably about a month. This is more of a…sensitization mission than anything else. Observe, recommend changes, implement.” Sighing deeply, he turned to lean sideways against the railing so he could see the other man properly. “Don’t be so morose,” he scolded at last offering a tired smile. “It’s not like I’m _abandoning_ you. You do have other friends besides me.”

Heero glared at him and scuffed his shoe against the cement underfoot. “It’s not that,” he assured him, sounding almost petulant. “Are you going because you _want_ to, or because you feel _obligated_ to?” he asked.

Duo considered this, his smile fading. “I don’t know,” he admitted after a time. “But it’s only thirty days, and it’ll be _at least_ that long till medical clears me to fly again. May as well be useful to someone. And it’s only a month – I can deal with that.”


End file.
